UK consumers sharply cut back their spending in February as soaring living costs damaged household finances, retailers have warned, despite strong sales of jewellery and fragrances for Valentine’s Day. Highlighting the impact of the cost of living crisis on the economy before Jeremy Hunt’s budget next week, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said sky-high energy […]
The boss of one of the UK’s largest business groups has stepped aside while an investigation takes place into complaints about his conduct at work. The CBI said it took all matters of workplace conduct “extremely seriously”, but would not comment further until the probe was complete. In a tweet, Tony Danker said he was […]
National level talks between the Rail Delivery Group and the RMT appear to be on the brink of failure, as another train strike looms next Thursday. Now, the RDG, which represents train companies, has written to the union saying that if the latest offer is not put to union members in a vote, national level […]
Starbucks plans to open 100 new stores across the UK this year, while investing millions of pounds in upgrading existing cafes. It comes as the world’s largest coffee chain reported a big jump in sales in the UK for 2022, continuing its recovery from the pandemic. Last year the firm was reportedly looking to sell […]
The closure of a chicken factory that employs 730 people is going ahead, the Welsh government has said. In January poultry giant 2 Sisters announced plans to shut its premises at Llangefni, Anglesey. The Welsh government has now said the company has put forward “no viable plans”, and is “moving ahead with plans to cease […]
The chancellor is expected to extend the Energy Price Guarantee at current levels for a further three months. Typical household energy bills were scheduled to rise to £3,000 a year from April, but calls have been made for the government to retain its current level of support with the cap at £2,500. The level of […]
Increased flexible working would tackle staff shortages that threaten economic growth, experts have said. More of the working-age population would take up work or stay in jobs if they were offered greater flexibility on where and how they worked, analysts said. Central bankers have said a labour supply problem risks cutting the UK’s potential for […]
Jeremy Hunt will find himself with an extra £30 billion to ease the cost of living crisis and resolve labour shortages, new research suggests. The Resolution Foundation think tank said the chancellor would benefit from borrowing being about £30 billion lower than anticipated this year due to tax receipts recovering and a lower bill than […]
Several UK banks have restricted their customers from buying crypto assets as concern grows about the risks posed by digital currency to customers. In an email to customers earlier this week, Nationwide said it would not allow payments to crypto exchanges using its credit cards and would impose a £5,000 daily limit on current account […]
Octopus Energy has hit back at the energy firms challenging its takeover of Bulb Energy, with the supplier’s lawyer arguing in court today that the company was simply more “nimble” and “saw an opportunity that others missed” in its deal-making with the government. Its lawyer argued that the rival suppliers were not concerned about how […]